Greatest Gift
by Nightshade's sydneylover150
Summary: Jim couldn't believe that he was going back to Iowa for the holidays.


**Title:** Greatest Gifts

 **Author:** Nightshade sydneylover150

 **Rating:** T for Teen

 **Pairing:** James T. Kirk/Spock pre-slash; friendship

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own them. They belong to Paramount Studios, Gene Roddenberry, JJ Abrams, and all the other entities that created these lovely characters

 **Summary:** Jim couldn't believe that he was going back to Iowa for the holidays.

 **Dedicated:** For Pepper formerly of Blind Cat Rescue in St. Paul's North Carolina and all other pets who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

 **Prompts:** 46- During a rare shore leave on Earth over the holidays, Kirk returns to Iowa, but coming home isn't quite what he expected.

55- The greatest gifts aren't ones found under the tree.

J/S/J/S

Jim couldn't believe that he was going back to Iowa for the holidays. He had never dreamed that he would ever return to his childhood home; but here he was, walking towards the door of his old home. This time, however, he wasn't alone. This time, Starfleet's Commander Spock, Jim's First Officer and, more importantly Jim's best friend, was by Jim's side.

However this knowledge didn't make Jim feel any less anxious.

Jim had had a rough year to put it mildly. Jim felt exhausted after having experienced his own uncertainty about whether he was fit to continue as the Captain of the USS Enterprise and his utter feelings of horror, sadness, and disbelief as his ship was destroy and his crew was captured. Needless to say, Jim's ( _my crew's too_ ) belief ( _beliefs_ ) that he ( _they_ ) had had a "rough year" was the _**understatement**_ of the century.

The fact that the Enterprise's crew had had such a "rough year" was probably the only reason why Starfleet had granted Jim's crew a prized two week long furlough during the Terran holiday season before they returned to deep space to finish out the remainder of their 2.5 year mission. ( _Great, now I'm starting to sound like Spock_.)

Despite the fact that Jim really hadn't wanted to go back to his childhood home for the holiday season, Jim felt like he had to go back to the basics. And nothing was more basic than Iowa. Thank God he had the perk of Spock coming to the flat nothingness with him. Bones ( _the traitor_ ) had decided to visit his daughter in Georgia even though the doctor would require his mother and his former mother-in-law to act as mediators for the "simple county doctor" ( _bullshit_ ) and his ex-wife ( _the she-witch_ ). Still Jim was a little surprised that Spock hadn't decided to spend his shore leave with Uhura ( _when is she ever going to let me call her by her first name?_ ) as Jim had thought they were back together.

Even though he really hadn't wanted them to be back together… because Jim was feeling selfish ( _he's mine dammit!_ )… but let's digress.

So here Jim was, leading his First Officer into his family's old house. The house actually belonged to Jim since he turned 18 and the title was switched from his mother's name into his own per his grandfather Tiberius' will. Jim quickly pulled his keys to the house out of his carryon bag, as it was freezing outside and he was sure that Iowa's weather was not good for his desert dwelling friend's health as the Vulcan was not wearing appropriate attire for the weather.

Jim hadn't caught on to the fact that the Vulcan had not been wearing warm enough clothes prior to their departure from the Riverside dock yard because Jim's diligent First Officer ( _the cold-weather idiot_ ) had stated that he needed to "check on" some " _ **necessary**_ " and " _ **time sensitive**_ " calculations for some ongoing experiments in the lab before Spock would allow himself to depart the ship for shore leave. So while Jim had been obtaining winter ready transportation for their shore leave the idiot Vulcan had been securing or checking on whatever science project he insisted he needed to look prior to leaving the ship. So Jim never saw how unprepared the half Vulcan was for Iowa's bitter winter temperatures.

( _I just knew I should have checked to make sure the stupid, weather-naïve, Vulcan idiot had packed warm_ _ **winter**_ _clothes._ )

When Jim had finally saw Spock's get-up and he bluntly asked Spock why he wasn't wearing appropriate cold weather clothes. The Vulcan had simply stated some of the crew had informed the half-Vulcan that "Iowa was experiencing extremely warm temperatures for winter." Jim had tried to explain sarcasm to Spock more than once ( _and_ _I'm certain the idiot already understands what it is and he was being willfully dense!_ ), but the half-Vulcan did not seem to grasp that the crew had been talking in a facetious manner.

Spock's naivety to Iowa's winter patterns had required Jim to give his BF the run down on what it means to be " _ **warm**_ " ( _that's a laugh_ ) in rural Iowa in the middle of December ( _that means 29 degrees_ _Fahrenheit_ _with a wind chill in the teens Spock_ ). However, Jim did not feel up to explaining to Spock that the temperature might feel even colder for the Vulcan since there was a lot of moisture in the air as it was supposed to snow.

So as quick as Jim could, he found his keys, shoved them in the old-fashioned lock, and opened the door in order to get the Spocksicle out of the cold. The Enterprise's captain just prayed that the automatic temperature gauge hadn't gone out again and the house did not feel like an ice box. ( _Hopefully Spock never hears some of the other old fashion terms I use during this shore leave or else this shore leave definitely will be less about relaxing and more about Spock nagging me about the illogical nature of colloquial phrases._ )

Thankful, whichever God listened to Starfleet captains who have not been to church in years had answered Jim's prayers. The house's thermostat wasn't broken… much. It was a little chillier that Jim had hoped it would be, but he could easily fix that and he could always lend Spock a heavy sweatshirt. ( _Hopefully the stupid Vulcan has warmer clothes packed in his frickin' duffle bag._ )

"Jim it appears that the temperature of the house is only 30 degrees above the stated outside temperature," Spock stated as soon as he entered the house.

"Yeah, I need to fiddle with the thermostat again. I really should have looked at it before I left Earth last time, but honestly I haven't wanted to return back here since I started at the Academy."

"Does your mother not also reside in the house? One would have logically believed that she would have made sure the house's systems were running optimally."

"Well Spock, here's the thing. My mom hasn't lived here since I was 18. The title was switched to my name after I became an adult. In fact I really don't think she has been on Earth for longer than a week at most since I was 14… Too many bad memories I guess."

Spock raised an eyebrow at Jim. Jim could practical hear the gears in Spock's brain whirling. "One would think that she would have been home more frequently to be with her children."

"Spock, not be sound like a prick or anything… you can't base other people's parents on your mom. My mom was never the type of parent that Amanda was to you." Jim stated quietly. ( _I hope you realized how good you had it with your mom Spock. I wish I could have met her and that you could have had more time with her_ )

"Which was?" Spock asked as he drew himself up straighter. Jim could just see how the half-Vulcan's feathers were getting all ruffled.

"A parent who was there for her kids. " Jim paused a second, "Most of the relationship I have with my mom now came Bones forcing me to start talking to her while we were rooming at the Academy. I'm pretty sure if it had been left up to either of me or my mom, neither of us would have ever gotten back into contact with each other."

"I do not understand," Spock stated with a turn of his head. ( _Great, now he is considering my family to be like one of his science projects._ )

"Spock let me put it simply and you can process it while I get a fire going and find you some warmer clothes." Jim waited for his best friend to nod before Jim continued on. "My mom used to, and probably still does, see me as a broken image of her deceased husband."

Now Spock's head was really cocked to the side. "That is an illogical supposition Jim. How could you be anyone other than you?"

Jim could not stop the snort from leaving his mouth. "Spock, you just asked the million dollar question."

Spock nodded slowly before he opened his mouth to speak once more. Jim immediately realized his mistake "Jim what do you mean by 'the million dollar question?'"

( _Dammit!_ )

S/J/S/J/S

As much as humans would like to believe that Spock was clueless in regards to human's colloquial phrases, the belief could not be further from the truth. Spock actually understood Terran colloquial phrases quite well. He used what others had termed as his " **alienness** " to make others look foolish, to feel flustered, and to test human's patience or reactions. However, Spock had taken to using this technique to provoke laughter and to distract his captain, his human, when it seemed his friend was feeling depressed. It seemed from the start of this trip that Spock's strategy was going to be employed multiple times throughout the two week shore leave as Jim appeared to be sad. This realization is what triggered Spock to start looking for alternative strategies for improving Jim's mood. These strategies ranged from having Jim educate Spock on rural Iowa farming to having Jim take Spock to all of his previous "hang outs." The last strategy had the added benefit of Spock getting to see Jim blush ( _beautifully_ ) and the annoyance that the blushes were the direct result of Jim having "run-ins" with his previous "hook-ups" who wanted the Captain's autograph ( _Mine_ ). Spock may or may not have wanted to nerve pinch quite a few of these admirers; Especially the admirers who dared to enter his th'y'la's personal space ( _Mine_!).

All throughout Spock's implementation of various strategies to distract his friend from his sadness, Spock searched for the perfect gift to give his friend for the human's holiday known as Christmas.

It was almost ironic that the thing that best helped Spock help his friend to manage his depression and solved Spock's Christmas present conundrum almost literally fell into the half-Vulcan's life.

S/J/S/J/S

Spock had been searching for anything to distract his friend (and to solve his Christmas dilemma) while the two males were out in the midst of Riverside's town center when something dropped into a snow pile next to Spock from a nearby tree.

Spock was almost ashamed to admit Jim reacted faster to the potential threat than the Vulcan did as Jim was up and between Spock and the object almost before Spock even had a chance to blink. Spock started to protest his friend's actions as Spock's friend bent down to examine the fallen object when Spock saw his friend just freeze in place.

"Spock, grab a blanket out of the rental car." Jim said so softly that Spock's super sensitive hearing almost could not make out what the human Captain had said.

"What is it Jim?"

"Spock, please, just go grab a blanket. Now" Jim stated as he snapped back into motion and quickly bent down, scooped something black out of the snow, and brought it up to his chest.

It was his friend's decisive actions that triggered Spock's own rapid movements. Spock quickly strode to the car the duo had recently abandoned and grabbed the blanket Jim had placed there for "emergencies." When the Vulcan returned to the place where he previously had left Jim, the young Vulcan found that his friend was now kneeling in the snow, cradling the black object. Spock quickly handed his friend the blanket and watched as a human deftly unfolded the blanket, wrapped the black object in the blanket, unzipped his coat, placed the wrapped object between his own body and the coat, and zipped his coat back up.

It was only after Jim was finished zipping up his coat that Spock realized what it was that his friend was cuddling so close to his chest.

In Jim's arms was a small black feline. The small animal could not be more than five or six weeks old. The creature's eyes were bulging out of the animal's tiny head and were weeping pus. Spock felt his heart in his side clench just looking at the little being.

"Spock I need you to call the following number, tell them we are bringing in an emergency case, and then I need you to drive me to Main and Summit." Jim said in a soft voice without looking up from the bundle he was holding close to his chest. Spock was not even sure of the little creature was still alive.

"What is the number I will be comming Jim?"

"It's a vet clinic for cats. It has an emergency hospital attached to it." Jim said in a quiet, calm voice. Spock found he was not, to use a human phrase, fond of that voice. It seemed to hint at something that Spock was not willing to consider. "The number is 319-698-5252. They have an old style phone so you're going to have to switch your come to analog dial."

Spock dialed the number before his friend finished his sentence. While he was waiting for the hospital's staff to answer on the other end, Spock heard the two most beautiful sounds in the world; His th'y'la's soft utterances of love to the little being and the little cat's soft answering purr.

J/S/J/S

Jim felt his heart break when he saw the state the little kitten was in. Surely no one could possibly be so cruel to an innocent animal, but Jim knew in his heart of hearts that people could be just that. No one had saved him when he was being beat by Frank, just as no one seemed to have cared about this little kitten.

Jim would make damn sure that people would care for the little kitten now.

S/J/S/J/S

Spock was appalled by some of the staff's behavior towards the kitten and to Jim's request for them to save the tiny being at any cost. He was even more appalled to see the effect the vet staff's words had on his beloved friend.

It seemed as soon as some of the staff had seen the kitten's swollen eyes and discovered that the kitten was FELV +, the staff members, human and non-human alike, deemed the kitten unsaveable. Still in the end, Jim had found some staff members who were willing to help save the kitten. These staff members took the kitten into emergency surgery to remove the kitten's infected eyes after they stabilized the little kitten's temperature. After the surgery, the compassionate staff members gave Jim and Spock strict instruction about the kitten's post-operative care and discussed the available treatment regimens for the little male kitten's needs.

Spock could not help feeling distraught as he witness how his friend's shoulders drooped when the staff members identified the long treatment process. The half-Vulcan realized his friend's dilemma without his friend having to vocalize his concerns to the staff members or Spock himself. Spock could see that Jim had already come to love the little kitten and did not want to have to leave him behind at the end of the Enterprise's two week shore leave.

Spock would make sure that his friend would not have to leave his little furry companion behind.

J/S/J/S

 _(Did I do the right thing? I can't take a little kitten into space. Command won't allow a sick little creature on a Starship. Would it be more humane to allow it to be put to sleep?_

 _No. That's stupid to think like that. Of course this is the right thing. This kitten didn't ask to be treated like this. He's a fighter, I can just tell. I'm not going to let anyone take that away from him. If I have to I'll sneak him on the ship. This little guy has already stolen my heart._

 _Much like my First has.)_

S/J/S/J/S

Spock almost laughed as he watched Jim attempted to wrangle his kitten. The kitten appeared to be determined that it was going to climb the living Christmas tree that Jim had insisted Spock and he obtain from a nearby tree lot. The kitten, now named Pepper due to an unfortunate incident involving Jim's family's antique pepper grinder, was determined to climb up the real-life fir Christmas tree to play with, what Jim had called, "the pretty bulbs and lights."

Even though Spock (and Jim) knew that Pepper could not see the lights and the bulbs, the kitten was able to find every single one of them. So far, the little creature had knocked off six bulbs off tree during his initial excursion into the tree's branches. Spock had calculated that there was a 99.9989 percent likelihood that Pepper would knock off more bulbs once the small kitten managed to escape from Jim's arms.

Sure enough, the eluded Jim's attempt to capture him, and the kitten dashed towards the tree and up the tree's trunk. Spock believed that Jim would say "that the sound of bulbs could be heard from the next farm over."

" _ **PEPPER**_!"

Spock was certain that I would not be an over-exaggeration to state that there was a fifty-five percent likelihood that his captain's voice could be heard clearly from the next farm over.

J/S/J/S

" _ **PEPPER**_!" Jim cried as his kitten climbed up the tree to knock off more bulbs. It was mere seconds later when the kitten managed to knock off another bulb and send it crashing to the floor.

It still amazed Jim, even after he had watched the little kitten do it for seven days, how certain little creature seemed about knowing where objects and other items around the house were located. Although on days like today, Jim wished that the little kitten was a little less certain and a lot less brave about his adventures to explore said objects and items.

As much happiness as the kitten gave him, Jim felt an underlying feeling of depression that he would have to give up his little friend for adoption. Command had refused to allow Jim's application for the kitten to come aboard the Enterprise. Jim was certain that his little Pepper would be in a for a hard life on Earth in rural Iowa as even the majority of the emergency vet hospital staff did not believe a blind, FELV + kitten deserved to live. However, Jim was no less certain that he had done the right thing.

After all, he had not met anyone, anything, or any being prior to Pepper who had ever made Jim's Vulcan friend almost laugh without the Vulcan being at the gates of death.

S/J/S/J

Christmas had finally arrived. Spock did not want to analyze the illogical feelings the date provoked within him. However, he would to admit that these feelings, as illogical and un-Vulcan as they were, were indicative of Spock's hopes and fears about this day.

Today Spock would give Jim not only his heart's desire, but also Spock's own heart.

J/S/J/S

"Spock, does this mean what I think it means?" Jim asked as he looked down at the official looking documentation in his hands.

"Yes Jim." Spock said stoically. "I believe it does if you think it means you get to keep your cat."

Jim barely even registered the words before he was in motion. He practically threw himself at Spock, narrowly avoiding hitting Pepper who had decided that the cushion next to the Vulcan was a great place to groom himself. Jim felt his friend stiffen as Jim's arms went around him, only to feel his friend's muscle relax moments before Jim could apologize for his invasion his best friend's personal space. Jim soon raised his head up from its position next to his friend's neck to look his friend in the eyes.

"Thank you so very much Spock."

"I take it that your gift is acceptable then Jim?" Spock asked as the room's light caused the Vulcan's eyes to look like chocolate.

"More than acceptable Spock." Jim did not know what came over him, but he bent his head down and kissed Spock. Jim quickly recovered and realized what he had done.

"Spock, I'm sorr…."

"I see that you find the second half of your gift acceptable too," Spock interrupted with a quirk of an eyebrow.

"My second gift?"

"Yes. Did you not read the card? I believe it is a Christmas custom to give one' heart to one's beloved on Christmas as well. Is it not?"

The End

Author's Note: When I was beginning to write this story, my "virtual" sponsor baby Pepper died. He was so full of spirit prior to his death that I wanted to immortalize him in the story. Hopefully I did him justice. Either way, I wanted to thank Blind Cat Rescue in St. Paul's NC for caring for him for the 2 years he was on this Earth. I also wanted to thank all of you for reading my story!


End file.
